Fewer Canadians are writing or calling Prime Minister Stephen Harper to vent, praise or pass on suggestions.

In the last two years, the volume of paper letters, e-mail and telephone calls to the PM has nearly dropped in half. Last year, the PM received 1,121,171 items of correspondence, compared to 2,116,118 two years earlier.

Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch said some Canadians could be contacting ministers' offices directly instead of trying to reach the prime minister. But a growing number might also see the act of reaching out to the PM as a waste of their time.

"It could be a sign that voters think the prime minister won't listen so it's not worth writing," he said.

Conacher said a trail of broken promises turns the public off and discourages people from trying to make their voices heard. But he still believes writing a letter to government remains a powerful exercise in a democracy.

"People should always write the letter," he said. "It's the most important and effective thing you can do. It's far more effective than protesting because in a letter you can say a whole lot more than a sign at a demonstration. Also, they know who you are and you can say who you voted for in the past and who you will vote for in the future depending on their actions."

Correspondence data, included in the Privy Council Office's annual performance report, also shows the PM sent out fewer letters and e-mails in the last two years. The PCO says the volume of correspondence is "issue driven" and that fluctuations from year to year are not uncommon. Because of the decrease in volume last year, PCO "significantly reduced" its overtime and met or exceeded service standards, according to the report.

But Ottawa Centre NDP MP Paul Dewar said the drop in mail reflects a lack of engagement between the PM and the Canadian public. He sees it as another symptom of cynicism that resulted in low voter turnout in recent elections.

"Canadians respond by not responding," he said. "In the last election they didn't exercise their franchise and now we see that they're not raising their voice. They probably don't think there's a lot of point in doing it."

Dewar said these are signs of an unhealthy democracy, and should serve as a wake-up call for all politicians to find new ways to engage Canadians instead of just putting out their messages.

Canadian politicians could learn some lessons from U.S. President Barack Obama, who is using new platforms to connect with the public.

"I think if you had a more open-ended process you would find Canadians will come out, they'll respond, they'll call, they'll e-mail and they'll write," Dewar said.

KATHLEEN.HARRIS@SUNMEDIA.CA